Toronto: Amid tight security, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat arrived in Canada on Sunday and addressed a large gathering in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), extolling the virtue of “unity in diversity”.
This was the RSS sarsanghchalak’s first-ever visit to Canada and his schedule only included Toronto and the GTA, and on Sunday evening, he spoke to a gathering of over 2,000 community members. The event was organised by Canadian Hindus for Outreach, Relations and Dialogue (CHORD).
Given the protests in the United States as the RSS chief addressed a gathering at the Madison Square Garden on Saturday, CHORD did not disclose the venue for the event, in the town of Vaughan, till just about 24 hours before it was scheduled to commence.
Those measures came about as multiple groups, headed by two MPs from the New Democratic Party, had called on the Canadian government to bar his entry into the country. Obviously, Ottawa did not oblige.
Joining Bhagwat on the stage were the former Premier of Alberta, and former Canadian Cabinet Minister, Jason Kenney, and Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal, representing the Vancouver-headquartered Khalsa Diwan Society, which manages the country’s historic Ross Street gurdwara.
“Diversity is never a problem for unity, because our tradition tells us not only of unity in diversity, but of diversities of unity.” He saw diversity as an “expression of unity”.
Expanding on the theme, he said, “We have to serve, accept, respect this diversity because it is an expression of unity, it beautifies it, is the decoration, we celebrate it.”
He added, “We always see the unity, and therefore, in Bharat there have been many castes, many creeds, many languages. Everything is many, nothing is alone, nothing is single, but it is all one. We don’t say all are one, we say all is one.”
The event was titled Hindu Vishwa Bandhu, and underscored the objective of the organisers to counter the narrative from opponents that the RSS chief’s visit to the country would prove divisive.
“Hindus respect and accept all. Bharat has always given asylum to the persecuted and provided guidance to the world. Many came to India as aggressors but are now Bharatiya citizens,” he stated.
Bhagwat’s speech was largely centred around the philosophy of Vasudeva kutumbakam, or the world is one family. He placed the gradual emergence of India on the global stage in that context. He said that the “rise of Bharat means more united, more emancipated humanity”.
“Bharat never says no whenever there is a crisis in the world. Helping others is in our tradition, our DNA,” he said.
As part of the RSS’ outreach effort, Bhagwat came to Canada following his trip to the US, and he will next travel to the United Kingdom.
